Professor Cunningham May Snag Emmy Monday Night

September 23, 2015

GOLDEN GATE XPRESS -- In the summer of 2014, the Islamic State rampaged through Iraq, causing the near destruction of the Iraqi government and the rekindling of the U.S. military role in Iraq. In the midst of the chaos, SF State Journalism Professor Sachi Cunningham, PBS “Frontline” correspondent Martin Smith and his film crew members spent two weeks capturing the growing power of the Islamic State in the Middle East. The crew’s filming resulted in a hour-long documentary called “The Rise of ISIS,” which premiered last October and is nominated for an Emmy Award in the news and documentary category, premiering September 28 at the Lincoln Center in New York City. The 42-year-old Pittsburgh native said she always knew she wanted to become a filmmaker. She initially dreamed of becoming a Hollywood filmmaker as an undergraduate studying American history at Brown University in 1990, but was later drawn to creating documentary films.